May, 2014:

Judge John E. Jones III ruled today that the Pennsylvania ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional. Judge Jones is the same judge that ruled in the Kitzmiller vs. Dover case in 2005, scoring a big point for science standards, shutting down the attempt to push "Intelligent Design" into the Dover School District’s science curriculum.

This time, instead of protecting science, Judge Jones protected equal rights, saying of the Pennsylvania ban on same-sex marriages, "We are a better people than what these laws represent. It is time to discard them into the ash heap of history."

Governor Tom Corbett can appeal the ruling (and probably will), but it’s doubtful that will accomplish anything other than rallying the backward-minded members of his political base and wasting time and money.

What Gov. Corbett should do, however, is leave well enough alone. Pennsylvania is (was?) the last northeastern state to disallow same-sex marriages. It’s sad and embarrassing. It’s well past time for Pennsylvania to leave the bigotry behind and stand up for equal rights. As Judge Jones stated, the term "same-sex marriage" will be abandoned in favor of "marriage" someday.

I went kayaking on Lake Clarke today (on the Susquehanna River just above the Safe Harbor dam). The dam must have been releasing a lot of water because there was more current on that section of river than I’ve ever seen (as the buoy picture shows!). I was surprised at the speed but it didn’t really affect my paddling very much.

I’ve been meaning to post this all week but kept forgetting. John Oliver gives a spot-on (and funny) commentary about the climate change “debate” and public opinion polls about climate change. Love it!

I can’t remember where I heard this, but someone once said that defending a position by citing free speech is sort of the ultimate concession; you’re saying that the most compelling thing you can say for your position is that it’s not literally illegal to express.